1 Chronicles 23

1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

Now David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

And he got together all the chiefs of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

And the Levites, all those of thirty years old and over, were numbered; and the number of them, by heads, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.

4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of Yhwh; and six thousand were officers and judges:

Of these, twenty-four thousand were to be overseers of the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were judges and men of authority;

5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised Yhwh with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

Four thousand were door-keepers; and four thousand gave praise to the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise.

6 And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

And David put them into divisions under the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.

Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham and Joel, three.

9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three; these were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah and Jeush and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei.

11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house.

Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah had only a small number of sons, so they were grouped together as one family.

12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before Yhwh, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was made separate and holy, he and his sons for ever, for the care of the most holy things and the burning of offerings before the Lord, to do his work and give blessings in his name for ever.

14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.

And the sons of Moses, the man of God, were put into the list of the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.

The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the first.

17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the first; and Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had a great number.

18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the first.

19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.

The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first, and Isshiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.

And at his death Eleazar had no sons, but only daughters, and their relations, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

The sons of Mushi: Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of Yhwh, from the age of twenty years and upward.

These were the sons of Levi, grouped by families, the heads of the families of those who were numbered by name, by heads, all those of twenty years old and over who did the work of the house of the Lord.

25 For David said, Yhwh God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:

For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he has made his resting-place in Jerusalem for ever;

26 And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.

And from now, there will be no need for the House of the Lord, and the vessels used in it, to be moved about by the Levites.

27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:

So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over.

28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Yhwh, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;

Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord,

29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for grain offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;

The holy bread was in their care, and the crushed grain for the meal offering, of unleavened cakes or meal cooked over the fire or in water; they had control of all sorts of weights and measures;

30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise Yhwh, and likewise at even;

They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at evening;

31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto Yhwh in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before Yhwh:

At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times before the Lord;

32 And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of Yhwh.

And they had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.